Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football Announces Four New Hires to Coaching Staff
03/04/2026 | 2:39:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University football program has announced four new hires to the coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season.
The four hires are Tom Rebholz as linebackers coach, Jake Kulig as defensive tackles coach, CJ Polkinghorn as an offensive graduate assistant, and Drew Wilson as a defensive graduate assistant.
Rebholz joins the staff after previously being the defensive coordinator at the University of Findlay in Ohio. The Pittsburgh native was in this role from 2021-25 during his second stint at the university. Rebholz was Findlay's linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator from 2015-18 prior to spending two years at Fairmont State.
Kulig will coach the defensive tackles at SIU after previously spending two seasons at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. At Gannon, Kulig was the defensive line coach, a role he also had at the University of Albany (N.Y.) for two seasons. Kulig is from Rochester, N.Y., and graduated from St. John Fisher in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Media Services.
Polkinghorn heads to SIU after spending one season as a graduate assistant coach for Henderson State's defensive line in 2025. From 2022-24, Polkinghorn was an offensive student assistant at Northern Iowa where he also had experience as an offensive analyst and offensive line assistant.Â
Wilson was previously the defensive backs coach at Upper Iowa in 2025. Prior to coaching at Upper Iowa, Wilson played at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., from 2021-24 as a linebacker. The former Blueboy is originally from Adairsville, Ga.
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